BSP authorizes Tagcash as an e-money issuer

Tagcash is now a duly authorized e-money issuer (EMI) by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), securing its EMI license as of June 19 2018.

Tagcash, a fintech non-bank company that provides digital wallet services, was established in 2014. With this new EMI license, founder Mark Vernon is committed to expand its customer base and extend its services by introducing functionalities that promote financial inclusion like equity crowdfunding and secondary exchange, peer-to-peer lending, NFTC token auctions, loyalty rewards, micropayments and remittances, and at the same time, provide a regulated platform to safely secure its customers’ funds.

“We look forward to the day when all Filipinos are using digital money running via the Blockchain, helping to cut down corruption and inefficiency and encouraging the creation of new business ideas using micropayments,” Mark Vernon told BitChikka.

A notable difference between Tagcash and other fintech players is that they are utilizing a permissioned blockchain in building their services. This allows for a more transparent financial ledger with the appropriate regulatory measures taken into consideration.

BSP has provided an enabling policy and regulatory environment that fosters the growth of financial inclusion. As of December 31 2017, BSP has already issued EMI license to 40 financial entities, with 8 of them being non-bank financial institutions. This can be a good sign that BSP is now open to new innovations from other fintech players as well.

With about 85% of Filipinos who are still unbanked, Tagcash complements BSP’s agenda to prioritize financial inclusion and push for a financial system that will cater to all sectors of society by year 2040.